snow line

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Cotopaxi, Ecuador (5,897 m), seen from 3,700 m, with the snow line at approximately 5,000 m

Snow line in Alps

The climatic snow line is the point above which snow and ice cover the ground throughout the year. The actual snow line may seasonally be significantly lower.

The interplay of altitude and latitude affect the precise placement of the snow line at a particular location. At or near the equator, it is typically situated at approximately 4,500 meters (or about 15,000 feet) above sea level. As one moves towards the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, the parameter at first increases: in the Himalayas the permanent snow line can be as high as 5,700 metres (18,700 feet). Beyond the Tropics the snow line becomes progressively lower as the latitude increases, to just below 3,000 metres in the Alps and falling all the way to sea level itself at the ice caps near the poles.

In addition, the relative location to the nearest coastline can influence the altitude of the snow line. Areas near a coast might have a lower snow line than areas of the same altitude and latitude situated in a landmass interior due to more winter snowfall and because the average summer temperature of the surrounding lowlands would be warmer away from the sea. A higher altitude is therefore necessary to lower the temperature further against the surroundings and keep the snow from melting in the summer.

Levels of the climatic snow line:

References

• Charlesworth J.K. (1957). The quaternary era. With special reference to its glaciation, vol. I. London, Edward Arnold (publishers) Ltd, 700 pp.
• Flint, R. F. (1957). Glacial and Pleistocene geology. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, xiii+553+555 pp.
• Kalesnik, S.V. (1939). Obshchaya glyatsiologiya [General glaciology]. Uchpedgiz, Leningrad, 328 pp. (in Russian)
• Tronov, M.V. (1956). Voprosy svyazi mezhdu klimatom i oledeneniem [The problems of the connection between climate and glaciation]. Izdatel'stvo Tomskogo Universiteta, Tomsk, 202 pp. (in Russian)
• Wilhelm, F. (1975). Schnee- und Gletscherkunde [Snow- and glaciers study], De Gruyter, Berlin, 414 pp. (in German)

See also

• Tree line
• Frost line
• Ice cap climate
• Glacier
• High Alps
• Snow line (astronomy)